Banks and financial service providers often seek expert guidance on regulatory compliance, ethics, insurance liability, and investment safety. RAND's commitment to objective, nonpartisan analysis has helped us to forge ongoing partnerships with national and international institutions to explore policy questions that affect infrastructure, safety, investment, compliance, and ethical aspects of the banking and financial services industries.
REPORT
The fraction of American households that have no bank accounts has long been a concern for policymakers. Estimates from a nationally representative sample, RAND's American Life Panel, suggest that in 2011: 15.5 percent of the population is unbanked; socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals are more likely to be unbanked; unbanked respondents cite financial barriers and personal preference as reasons for not having a bank account.
REPORT
A preliminary assessment of the impact of the financial crisis on the civil justice system finds that litigation demands on some parts of the system have increased, that funding for state courts may be trending downward, and that there have been disruptions in the legal services economy, in the provision of legal aid, and in the operation and staffing of courts.
PROJECT
Immigrants are less likely than native-born individuals to use banking services or to participate in formal retirement savings programs. The Financial Literacy Center is identifying the main barriers to these services and developing and testing new products to help improve access.
PROJECT
Hispanic immigrants constitute a rapidly growing share of the U.S. population but are less likely to be financially literate than natives. RAND researchers are investigating barriers to Hispanic immigrants' use of financial services and evaluates financial education materials for them.
PROJECT
The RAND Behavioral Finance (BeFi) Forum is a collective of academic, financial, and government leaders who meet regularly in person and via web seminars to foster cutting-edge behavioral research for practical application. BeFi's mission is to help consumers make better financial decisions.
REPORT
Examines the economics of financial firms, their governance practices, and governance-performance links.
REPORT
These videos offer presentations from "Emerging Research on Financial Literacy: a Workshop," held by the Financial Literacy Center, a joint center of the RAND Corporation, Dartmouth College, and the Wharton School. The workshop brought together Center scholars with policymakers and practitioners in the financial literacy field.
REPORT
Passwords are proving less and less capable of protecting computer systems from abuse. Multifactor authentication (MFA) — which combines something you know (e.g., a PIN), something you have (e.g., a token), and/or something you are (e.g., a fingerprint) — is increasingly being required. This report investigates why organizations choose to adopt or not adopt MFA — and where they choose to use it.
REPORT
At the first annual conference of the Financial Literacy Research Consortium, scholars discussed how programs, educational products, and policies can best promote financial planning and security. Videos from the presentations are available on rand.org.
NEWS RELEASE
A conference highlighting the latest developments in improving the financial literacy of the American public is being held Nov. 18 and 19 in Washington D.C. by the Financial Literacy Center and the U.S. Social Security Administration.
REPORT
The RAND Behavioral Finance Forum held on May 25, 2010, focused on new policy options in consumer finance with staff and members of Congress and other policymakers, and with representatives of academe and the financial industry.
PERIODICAL
Features discuss energy strategies for Israel, the economic recession, and Iran's leadership; other items discuss the KC-10 fleet, air pollution and hospital costs, no-fault insurance, silica litigation, poverty reduction, and political polarization.
NEWS RELEASE
A new center dedicated to improving the financial literacy of the American public has been launched by the RAND Corporation, Dartmouth College and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
REPORT
The RAND Behavioral Finance Forum, an organization dedicated to helping consumers make better financial decisions, held a conference on May 1, 2009, to discuss new policy options in consumer finance with staff and members of Congress and other policymakers, and with representatives of academe and the financial industry.
REPORT
Reports the results of an Internet survey conducted with the American Life Panel to address issues related to consumers' perceptions of credit unions and financial institutions and to help credit unions understand consumer behavior. Consumer selection of financial service providers is based primarily on convenience of branches, convenience of ATMs, and bank fees. Bank users are more focused on convenience; credit union users are more…
REPORT
This briefing describes recent ongoing RAND research on financial literacy in the Gulf States region. Financial literacy covers both skills and knowledge: managing household finances requires basic mathematics as well as understanding of finance providers, products, and services.
REPORT
The U.S. financial services industry has become increasingly complex in recent decades, as financial firms have launched products and services that have blurred the traditional distinctions between broker-dealers and investment advisers. Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers in the United States examines the business practices of both types of financial professionals and whether investors understand the differences between the…
NEWS RELEASE
RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson issued a statement today regarding President-elect Barack Obama's nomination of Timothy F. Geithner, a member of RAND's Board of Trustees as the next Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
NEWS RELEASE
The Behavioral Finance Forum, an organization dedicated to helping consumers make better financial decisions, will become an initiative of the nonprofit RAND Corporation.
NEWS RELEASE
The financial services industry is complex and financial service professionals are becoming less distinguishable and more inter-related.
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